Stigmata non Grata

About:
In 1992, Corn Palace Productions (of St. Paul MN) commissioned eight composers to each write a piece for handbell ensemble. These participants came from all sorts of backgrounds and had very different stylistic bents. The one factor common to all of the composers was that none of them had previously written for handbells. Stigmata non Grata was my response to this particular task. It would be presumptuous (and inaccurate) to say that there was some attempt on my part to extend the range of the way bells are played in this piece, since I had no basic knowledge of the common practice for these instruments. I would just say is that I immediately found their timbral world attractive and compelling, and wished to bring some of the rhythmic activity associated with other sorts of bells (here a nod to Africa and Bali) and infuse it into this genre.